Welcome Home Mom

I recently had to take a business trip where I was gone for 40 full hours (but who's counting).  It's the longest I've been gone from this chicken.  Trust me, when you've got this at home - who would want to leave?

Getting to Know You - 5 Months

Wowza - this last month FLEW by.  We were so incredibly busy that I think I missed it.

Do you like these photos?  I thought I'd see what she'd look like from below - these photos are NOT distorted in anyway.  I just put the camera under her chin and clicked.  She even has her father's lips.

As we use to quote from one of our favorite movies, "You're not fat. You're beautiful! Now lay off the potato salad."

Sug is growing so fast it's unbearable.

Here are her stats for the month:

Weight - 16 lbs. even - 75th percentile
Height - 25 inches - 40th percentile
She's getting TALLER! Hooray!

We battled some illnesses this month, found a new doctor and went to bed smelling of garlic.... long story.  But we are well now (because of the garlic) and chugging right along.  The new daycare is settling in and the convenience is superb.  She is almost sitting up on her own (which we are highly impressed by) and needs to hold everything - including the skin on your neck.

She's wiggling and rolling so much, just ready to get into trouble.  The crib has been officially cleaned out - as she no longer stays put while sleeping - rolling and moving about.  I like to see where she's at in the morning when I go to see her smiling face.  She is sleeping much better these days, through the night mostly, but nothing is consistent and we just count our lucky stars for the silent nights when we do get them.

Bringing Up Bebe (SOAP BOX - BEWARE)

About a couple of months ago, I read the book Bringing Up Bebe - It's by an expat living in France and her observations of the rearing of French vs. American babies.

I really, really liked this book.  I think James got tired of me talking about it so much.  But I think I liked this book so much because it made me feel like we were doing some things right. 

James and I try extremely hard not to judge parenting ideas and philosphies and understand (especially as new parents) that sometimes you do what you have to do... But we've also realized there are certain systems, philosphies and behaviors that we find important and are making a point to implement in the raising of our Sugar Bear.  We've had many discussions on things that are important to us as individuals, things our parents did that we respect and also things we'd tweak if given the chance.

 I could seriously talk about this book for days - but I will spare you all.  As many of you know, I can be extemely passionate about certain things - and NPL has definitely fallen under that title.  I tend to be very goal oriented (to a fault) and reading this book reminded me that our little Sug is not a goal of baby milestones or a test of my abilities as a mother- she's a little person with a heart and soul who is looking to me to help guide the way. I want so much for her to grow into a confident, secure, happy woman - that I forget sometimes that it's ok for her to just be.

Found but not lost

Like I mentioned earlier - this little Sugar's brain is just churning away.  She has recently discovered two items that have definitely grabbed her attention - her tootsies and her poochie!

As you might notice - she has abnormally long, skinny toes.  Fingers for feet, so she's been able to grab a hold of those thing quite easily.  They've yet to make it in the mouth, probably due to the size of her belly. 

She's also noticed that the big black pony in the house is a staple.  She looks for him when she hears the clicking of his nails on the floor and enjoys being on his level in her exersaucer.  We are trying really hard to control his licking but it might be out of our control.  I have a feeling they are going to be BFF - whether he likes it or not.

Happy 4th of July

Is it possible to love someone so much you could explode?

SOLIDS! Nom, nom, nom

As a foodie family, we were excited when the doc said we can start the solids!  James was working a lot the first week we could eat - so we waited until we could all experience the first feeding as a family. 

Needless to say - I documented.

We even have a real live high chair coming to our doorstep this week!

We've started using the video feature on our camera, but I couldn't get it to upload.  I can't wait to show her these little bits when she gets older.